Common rail product circuit for an agricultural applicator with pressure accumulation capabilities and related systems and methods

Abstract

A product application system for an agricultural applicator includes a boom assembly including a plurality of boom sections, with each boom section being pivotably coupled to at least one adjacent boom section. The system also includes a common rail product circuit spanning across a length of the boom assembly, a product pump configured to supply an agricultural product through the common rail product circuit, and a plurality of nozzle assemblies provided in association with each of the boom sections. Each nozzle assembly across the plurality of boom sections is individually coupled to the common rail product circuit. In addition, the system includes at least one pressure accumulator provided in fluid communication with the common rail product circuit, with the pressure accumulator(s) being configured to adjust a circuit pressure of the agricultural product within the common rail product circuit in response to pressure deviations from a predetermined pressure range.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A product application system for an agricultural applicator, the system comprising:
 a boom assembly including a plurality of boom sections, each of the plurality of boom sections being pivotably coupled to at least one adjacent boom section of the plurality of boom sections; 
 a common rail product circuit spanning across a length of the boom assembly; 
 a product pump configured to supply an agricultural product through the common rail product circuit; 
 a plurality of nozzle assemblies provided in association with each of the plurality of boom sections, each nozzle assembly across the plurality of boom sections being individually coupled to the common rail product circuit; 
 a computing system communicatively coupled to the product pump, the computing system being configured to control an operation of the product pump in an attempt to maintain the circuit pressure of the agricultural product supplied through the common rail product circuit within a predetermined pressure range; and 
 at least one pressure accumulator provided in fluid communication with the common rail product circuit, the at least one pressure accumulator being configured to adjust a circuit pressure of the agricultural product within the common rail product circuit in response to pressure deviations from the predetermined pressure range. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one pressure accumulator is configured to release agricultural product into the common rail product circuit in response to a decrease in the circuit pressure below the predetermined pressure range. 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one pressure accumulator is further configured to receive agricultural product from the common rail product circuit in response to an increase in the circuit pressure above the predetermined pressure range. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the boom assembly comprises a central boom section and first and second boom arms pivotably coupled to the central boom section; 
 the first boom arm includes a first set of boom sections of the plurality of boom sections and the second boom arm includes a second set of boom sections of the plurality of boom sections; and 
 the common rail product circuit includes a central circuit section extending across the central boom section, a first circuit section extending across at least a portion of the first boom arm, and a second circuit section extending across at least a portion of the second boom arm. 
 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one pressure accumulator comprises a central pressure accumulator provided in fluid communication with the central circuit section of the common rail product circuit. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one pressure accumulator comprises at least one first pressure accumulator provided in fluid communication with the first circuit section of the common rail product circuit and at least one second pressure accumulator provided in fluid communication with the second circuit section of the common rail product circuit. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of a charge pressure or a discharge pressure of the at least one pressure accumulator is selected based on a respective maximum pressure threshold or a minimum pressure threshold set for the predetermined pressure range. 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one pressure sensor fluidly coupled to the common rail product circuit, the computing system being configured to control the operation of the product pump based at least in part on feedback provided by the at least one pressure sensor. 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the computing system is communicatively coupled to a nozzle valve of each of the plurality of nozzle assemblies; and 
 the computing system is configured to control an operation of each nozzle valve to regulate a flow rate of the agricultural product through the respective nozzle assembly. 
 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 9 , wherein the computing system is configured to vary the operation of each nozzle valve in response to changes in a ground speed of the agricultural applicator to adjust the flow rate of the agricultural product through the respective nozzle assembly. 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one pressure accumulator is configured to adjust the circuit pressure of the agricultural product within the common rail product circuit in response to pressure variations deriving from the adjusted flow rates through the plurality of nozzle assemblies. 
     
     
       12. A method for operating an agricultural applicator, the agricultural applicator comprising a boom assembly including a plurality of boom sections and a common rail product circuit spanning across a length of the boom assembly, the agricultural applicator further comprising a plurality of nozzle assemblies provided in association with each of the plurality of boom sections, each nozzle assembly across the plurality of boom sections being individually coupled to the common rail product circuit, the method comprising:
 receiving pressure data associated with a circuit pressure of agricultural product within the common rail product circuit; 
 controlling an operation of a product pump based at least in part on the received pressure data to supply agricultural product through the common rail product circuit to the plurality of nozzle assemblies at a pressure within a predetermined pressure range; 
 controlling an operation of a nozzle valve of each nozzle assembly of the plurality of nozzle assemblies to regulate a flow rate of the agricultural product through each nozzle assembly; and 
 when the circuit pressure of the agricultural product within common rail product circuit deviates from the predetermined pressure range, adjusting the circuit pressure in response to the pressure deviation by receiving agricultural product within or expelling agricultural product from at least one pressure accumulator provided in fluid communication with the common rail product circuit. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein adjusting the circuit pressure in response to the pressure deviation comprises supplying agricultural product from the at least one pressure accumulator to the common rail product circuit when the circuit pressure decreases below the predetermined pressure range. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 12 , wherein adjusting the circuit pressure in response to the pressure deviation comprises receiving agricultural product from the common rail product circuit for storage within the at least one pressure accumulator when the circuit pressure increases above the predetermined pressure range. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 12 , further controlling the operation of the product pump to increase the circuit pressure within the common rail product circuit above the predetermined pressure range to charge the at least one pressure accumulator with the agricultural product. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 12 , wherein controlling the operation of the nozzle valve of each nozzle assembly comprises controlling the operation of the nozzle valve of each nozzle assembly in response to changes in a ground speed of the agricultural applicator to adjust the flow rate of the agricultural product through each nozzle assembly. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , wherein adjusting the circuit pressure in response to the pressure deviation comprises adjusting the circuit pressure in response to a pressure variation deriving from the adjusted flow rate through each nozzle assembly by receiving agricultural product within or expelling agricultural product from the at least one pressure accumulator. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the boom assembly comprises a central boom section and first and second boom arms pivotably coupled to the central boom section; 
 the first boom arm includes a first set of boom sections of the plurality of boom sections and the second boom arm includes a second set of boom sections of the plurality of boom sections; 
 the common rail product circuit includes a central circuit section extending across the central boom section, a first circuit section extending across at least a portion of the first boom arm, and a second circuit section extending across at least a portion of the second boom arm; and 
 adjusting the circuit pressure in response to the pressure deviation comprises adjusting the circuit pressure in response to the pressure deviation by receiving agricultural product within or expelling agricultural product from at least one pressure accumulator provided in fluid communication with one of the central circuit section, the first circuit section, or the second circuit section. 
 
     
     
       19. A product application system for an agricultural applicator, the system comprising:
 a boom assembly including a central boom section and first and second boom arms pivotably coupled to the central boom section, the first boom arm including a first set of boom sections of a plurality of boom sections of the boom assembly and the second boom arm includes a second set of boom sections of the plurality of boom sections; and 
 a common rail product circuit spanning across a length of the boom assembly, the common rail product circuit including a central circuit section extending across the central boom section, a first circuit section extending across at least a portion of the first boom arm, and a second circuit section extending across at least a portion of the second boom arm; 
 a product pump configured to supply an agricultural product through the common rail product circuit; 
 a plurality of nozzle assemblies provided in association with each of the plurality of boom sections, each nozzle assembly across the plurality of boom sections being individually coupled to the common rail product circuit; and 
 at least one pressure accumulator provided in fluid communication with the common rail product circuit, the at least one pressure accumulator being configured to adjust a circuit pressure of the agricultural product within the common rail product circuit in response to pressure deviations from a predetermined pressure range, 
 wherein the at least one pressure accumulator comprises at least one first pressure accumulator provided in fluid communication with the first circuit section of the common rail product circuit and at least one second pressure accumulator provided in fluid communication with the second circuit section of the common rail product circuit. 
 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 19 , wherein at least one of a charge pressure or a discharge pressure of the at least one pressure accumulator is selected based on a respective maximum pressure threshold or a minimum pressure threshold set for the predetermined pressure range.